Man Arrested After Series of Crimes Ends in Crash

SPARKS, NV - The intersection of Sparks Boulevard and Greg Street in Sparks re-opened Friday afternoon after a crash in the midst of the Southeast Connector roadwork. The crash ended what Sparks Police Department (SPD) officials say was a series of crimes.

SPD officers say they found 45-year-old Mark Allen Johns of Reno hiding in the bushes along a bike path near the Sparks and Greg accident. Police say he was "verbally and physically uncooperative." They had to use "an electronic control device" in order to put handcuffs on him, and then, on the way to a patrol car, he slipped out of his cuffs and struggled with officers. Police say they quickly took him into custody again.

During the investigation, officers learned of several other incidents in which they say Johns was involved. It started with a reckless driving incident near Glen Vista and Glen Martin in Sparks. There, police say Johns drove his red 2008 Chevy pickup over a man's landscaping. When the man confronted him, police say Johns pushed him down and drove away.

A short time later, police say Johns hit a vehicle on the off-ramp from eastbound Interstate 80 to Sparks Boulevard but kept going. Investigators say when Johns tried to turn west onto Greg St. from Sparks Blvd., he side-swiped two vehicles before hitting a third head-on. That head-on crash is what finally stopped Johns' truck. Witnesses say he ran down toward the Truckee River and that's where police found him hiding in the bushes.

Johns was booked on several charges including Driving Under the Influence, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Battery, and Reckless Driving.

At about the same time as the Sparks and Greg crash, another accident - which had closed Rock and Oddie briefly - was cleared up, as had a crash on eastbound Interstate 80 between Sparks Boulevard and McCarran that was affecting the on-ramp from Sparks to 80.

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